A 14-year-old high school student said a classmate said the n-word repeatedly during a class on Zoom. A freshman at Miami Senior High, Jasmine Williams was the only Black student in the class, according to Local 10. “All I wanted was to be able to go to school and have a regular high school experience,” she said. “I shouldn’t have to deal with getting harassed by my classmates.”
On September 24, A female student used the slur 28 times during the remote class, according to Ariel Lett, an attorney representing Jasmine. It also came a day after the class learned about the First Amendment, the teen noted. Lett said it took the teacher nearly seven minutes to mute the student's mic. They also showed a screenshot of the word being typed in all caps, as well. By the end of the class, the teacher never addressed the incident, the attorney claimed.
Lett said Jasmine was the target of a racial bullying incident. “The use of this word in and of itself is hurtful, but what’s also hurtful is when the adults in charge do nothing about it,” the attorney said. They also claimed that the school's principal did not take immediate action. “It was horrible. It made me feel terrible, and I was very angry,” Jasmine said. The 14-year-old transferred out of the school following the incident, but her family wants Miami-Dade County Schools to address the situation.
“Enough is enough,” her mother Nicole Crooks said. “To be told by the principal that he would need to find out the context in which the n-word was used in order to start looking into it signifies an even bigger and more widespread issue.” Crooks said the principal apologized later, but there's no word on if disciplinary action has been taken.
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